Poker Game Having Additional Draws

ABSTRACT

A poker game is disclosed. The poker game comprises dealing an initial hand from a deck of playing cards. A player is allowed to discard and replace as few as none, and as many as all, of the cards from the initial hand. The resulting hand is evaluated to determine whether the player has a three-of-a-kind, and if so, a second draw is triggered. The second draw provides the player with another opportunity to obtain a four-of-a-kind without the need for an additional wager, by allowing the player to discard at least one card and draw a replacement card for each card discarded. Multiple initial hands may be provided.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. application Ser.No. 11/223,272 filed on Sep. 9, 2005, hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety for all purposes.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to a system and method forplaying casino-type games, and more particularly, to a system and methodfor playing a poker-based game.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many variations of poker have been developed to enhance player interestand to increase the attractiveness of the wagering game. For example,bonus games have been utilized in connection with a primary poker-basedgame. Generally, bonus games generate additional winnings beyond thatwhich can usually be won during the normal play of a wagering game. Theopportunity to receive the additional winnings entices the player toplay a particular wagering game.

However, bonus games do not provide casino game players with theopportunity to increase the chances of winning in the primary game.Additionally, bonus games are often subject to the occurrence of randomconditions that are beyond the control of the casino game player. Often,the casino game player loses interest in the game before a bonus eventoccurs. In addition, to further entice players to continue playing, somepoker-based games have been developed where the player must pay a secondwager to increase his opportunity of winning in a primary based game.However, not all casino players are interested in paying for a “secondchance.”

What is needed is a new and interesting type of poker-based game thatprovides a player with an increased opportunity of winning a primarypoker-based game.

SUMMARY

Briefly, and in general terms, various embodiments for playing animproved poker-based game are provided. A poker game includes a deck ofplaying cards, a wager receivable from a player and an initial handdealt from the deck of playing cards in response to receipt of thewager. One or more cards are optionally discardable from the initialhand, wherein any card discarded from the initial hand is replaced witha replacement card. An additional discard option is enabled when astand-alone result of a three-of-a-kind is shown in the initial hand andplayer eligibility is satisfied, wherein the first additional discardoption includes replacing any additional discarded card with anadditional replacement card without requiring an additional wager. Apayout is awarded according to a poker payout table.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a hand of cards dealt to a game playerin accordance with one embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 2 illustrates a hand of cards played in accordance with anembodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 3 illustrates a hand of cards formed in accordance with anembodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 4 illustrates a discard selection for replacement by a second drawin accordance with an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 5 illustrates the hand of cards formed after the second draw inaccordance with an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 6 illustrates another hand of cards formed after the second draw inaccordance with an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of another hand of cards dealt to a gameplayer in accordance with an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 8 illustrates a hand of cards played in accordance with anembodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 9 illustrates a hand of cards formed in accordance with anembodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 10 illustrates a discard selection for replacement by a second drawin accordance with an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 11 illustrates the hand of cards formed after the second draw inaccordance with an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 12 illustrates a hand of cards dealt to a player in accordance withan embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a hand of cards formed in accordancewith an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 14 illustrates multiple hands of cards dealt to a single gameplayer in accordance with an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 15 illustrates playing more than one hand of cards in accordancewith an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 16 illustrates playing more than one hand of cards in accordancewith an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 17 illustrates playing more than one hand of cards after a seconddraw is triggered in accordance with an embodiment of the poker game.

FIG. 18 illustrates playing more than one hand of cards after a seconddraw in accordance with an embodiment of the poker game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are directed to a system and method for playing apoker game, wherein the player is provided with at least one additionalopportunity for obtaining a four-of-a-kind Embodiments of the gamesystem and method are illustrated and described herein, by way ofexample only, and not by way of limitation.

In one embodiment, a poker-based game is provided to be played inconjunction with an increased opportunity of obtaining a four-of-a-kindwithout the need for an additional wager. The increased opportunity isprovided upon the occurrence of a triggering event. The occurrence ofthe triggering event provides the game player with the opportunity togenerate extra winnings Generally, the poker-based wagering game can beany casino-type poker game, which may include, but is not limited tostand alone card games or video-based poker game machines.

Associated with the poker game are triggers for activating a seconddraw. Generally, triggers are defined events occurring during the playof the poker game. Virtually any event can be defined as a triggeringevent. In one embodiment, a triggering event can be defined as aparticular winning combination of cards. For example, the occurrence ofa three-of-a-kind may be defined as the triggering event. The triggeringevent may further be defined by how the winning combination occurs. Forexample, if the triggering event is defined as the occurrence of athree-of-a-kind, it can be further stipulated that the three-of-a-kindmust occur when the initial hand is dealt. Alternatively, in an optionalembodiment, the three-of-a-kind may occur at any time. Other triggeringevents such as player status, time of day, wagered amount and the likemay also be used to trigger a second draw to the initial hand.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denotelike or similar elements throughout the drawings, and more particularlyto FIGS. 1-18, there is shown a system and method for playing apoker-based game.

In one embodiment, the poker-based game uses a five-cardsingle-hold-and-draw poker game. Optionally, as those skilled in the artwill appreciate, any poker-based game where a player ends up with fouror more cards at the end of the game may be used.

In one embodiment, a standard deck of cards is used to play the game. Ofcourse, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thestandard deck of cards may comprise more or less than fifty-two cards.For example, a wild card may be added to the deck of cards.Alternatively, more than one wild card may be added to the deck ofcards. Optionally, more than one deck of cards may be used in a game.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an example of five cards randomly dealt from astandard deck of playing cards is illustrated. Specifically, the hand 20includes the cards 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30, all dealt from the deck ofcards 32. The cards in the hand 20 are shown face-up, and appear to havebeen dealt all face-up. However, in one embodiment, the cards are alldealt face-down, or alternatively, the cards are dealt in a combinedfashion such that some of the cards are dealt face-down and some aredealt face-up.

Once the cards have been dealt, the player is allowed to discard and todraw replacement cards for the hand 20. As those skilled in the art willappreciate, the number of allowed discards will vary for differentpoker-based games. In one embodiment, the game player may discard as fewas none and as many as all of the cards received in the initial hand.For example, in a game where five cards are dealt to the player, then asmany as five cards may be discarded. If any cards are discarded,replacement cards from the same standard deck of cards are drawn ordealt to complete the hand. The hand is then compared to a standardpoker payout table to determine a payout amount. Alternatively, any typeof pay table may be used.

It is important to note that the game player is not required to discardany of the cards dealt in the initial hand, and may choose to hold allof the originally dealt cards. However, in an alternative embodiment ofthe invention, the game player may be required to discard at least oneof the dealt cards.

For the purposes of this example, the player selects two cards todiscard, which is illustrated in FIG. 2. Cards 24 and 26 are the twocards selected to be discarded, and therefore, the cards have beenremoved from the hand 20. Optionally, the player may select which cardsremain in the hand. In this scenario, the unselected cards are treatedas discards and are removed from the player's hand.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the cards 22, 28 and 30 remain in the hand 20.Two cards are drawn from the deck 32 to replace the discarded cards andto complete the hand 20. Alternatively, a dealer may deal two cards froma deck 32 to the player.

FIG. 3 illustrates a hand 20 where the cards 34 and 36 were drawn (ordealt) from the deck 32 to complete the hand. The presence of athree-of-a-kind in the hand 20 (cards 22, 28 and 30) triggers a seconddraw. More particularly, the second draw option provides the player withanother opportunity for obtaining a four-of-a-kind without requiring anadditional wager from the player. Once the second draw is triggered, theplayer is allowed to discard at least one card. Referring to FIG. 4, thecard 36 is selected to be discarded, and therefore, this card has beenremoved from the hand 20. The cards 22, 34, 28 and 30 remain in the hand20. A replacement card 46 is drawn from the deck 32 to complete the hand20, as illustrated in FIG. 5. The hand 20, in FIG. 5, is compared to astandard payout table and is awarded a payout accordingly. Optionally,any type of pay table may be used to determine the payout.

The hand 20, as shown in FIG. 5, contains a four-of-a-kind and theplayer is awarded the payout that corresponds to such a hand.Optionally, the player may not obtain a four-of-a-kind. For example,referring back to FIG. 4, the player discards the card 36 from the hand20. The player then draws a replacement card to complete the hand 20.Referring to FIG. 6, a replacement card 56 from the deck 32 completesthe hand 20. The hand 20 in FIG. 6 contains a three-of-a-kind and theplayer is awarded an appropriate payout that corresponds to this levelof win.

In one embodiment, the three-of-a-kind must occur on the initial deal totrigger the second draw option. For example, the hand 20 shown in FIG. 1shows a three-of-a-kind occurring on the first deal, and in oneembodiment, this occurrence would trigger the second draw option.Alternatively, in another embodiment, the three-of-a-kind does not needto occur in the initial hand and may instead be formed with the aid ofreplacement cards drawn during the course of the game. For example, FIG.7 illustrates an initial hand 70 comprising cards 72, 74, 76, 78 and 80,wherein the cards 72 and 76 are a pair of kings. The player receivingthe hand 70 may select which, if any, cards to discard. As previouslystated, the player may also select which cards remain in the hand. Inthis example, the player chooses to discard cards 74 and 80. In FIG. 8,the cards 74 and 80 have been removed from the hand 70. Two replacementcards are drawn from the deck of cards 32 to complete the hand 70. FIG.9 illustrates a hand 70 where cards 84 and 90 were drawn from the deck32 to form the hand. The card 90 completes the formation of athree-of-a-kind (cards 72, 76 and 90) in the hand 70, the occurrence ofwhich triggers a second draw option. Again, once the second draw optionis triggered, the player is allowed to discard at least one card withouthaving to make an additional wager. Referring to FIG. 10, the card 78 isselected to be discarded and has been removed from the hand 70. Areplacement card 98 is drawn from the deck 32 to complete the hand 70,as illustrated in FIG. 11. The hand 70 shown in FIG. 11 contains afour-of-a-kind (cards 72, 76, 98 and 90). Accordingly, the player isawarded a payout according to a standard pay table. Optionally, any typeof pay table may be used to determine a payout amount.

Optionally, in another embodiment, in order to trigger the second drawoption, a three-of-a-kind must occur as a stand-alone result and notpart of a four-of-a-kind, full house, or the like. For example,referring to FIG. 12, the complete hand 110 contains three “jacks (cards111, 114 and 115). However, the three “jacks” are part of a full houseand therefore, are not considered a three-of-a-kind for the purposes oftriggering a second draw. Therefore, the presence of the three “jacks”would not trigger the second draw option.

Alternatively, triggering the second draw option requires athree-of-a-kind drawn in the initial deal and not part of anotherwinnable combination after the hand is completed. For example, referringback to FIG. 1, an initial hand 20 is dealt to a player from the deck ofcards 32. The initial hand 20 contains a three-of-a-kind (cards 22, 28and 30) and meets the first part of the trigger requirement (i.e. theinitial hand contains a three-of-a-kind) In FIG. 2, the player selectsthe cards 24 and 26 to discard. Two cards are then need to complete thehand 20. In FIG. 3, the player draws the cards 34 and 36 to complete thehand 20. Since a three-of-a-kind occurred on the initial deal and thethree-of-a-kind is not part of another winnable combination in thecomplete hand 20 in FIG. 3, a second draw would be triggered.

However, if instead the player drew replacement cards 34′ and 36′ (asshown in FIG. 13) to complete the hand 20, the second draw would not betriggered. In this example, the hand 20 in FIG. 13 contains a full house(two “tens” and three “jacks”). The three jacks (i.e. cards 22, 28 and30) would not trigger a second draw option because the three jacks arepart of the full house and therefore ineligible to trigger the seconddraw option.

In another, separate embodiment, more than one hand of cards may bedealt to the game player, wherein each additional hand contains the samenumber of cards as the first dealt hand. For example, referring to FIG.14, a first hand 140 is dealt from the deck 135 and an additional hand142 is dealt from an additional deck 137. It will be appreciated thatany number of additional hands can be dealt to the game player. FIG. 14is provided for purposes of illustration only, and is not intended tolimit or restrict the number of multiple hands to two.

Referring back to FIG. 14, the game player chooses which cards, if any,to discard from each of the hands 140 and 142. The game player maychoose to discard as few as none, and as many as the maximum number ofallowed discards from each hand. As previously stated, the maximumallowable number of discards varies among the many variations ofpoker-based games. Additionally, the game player may choose to discard adifferent number of cards from each hand. FIG. 15 illustrates the cardsremoved, or discarded, from each hand. Specifically, the cards 152, 154and 158 have been discarded from the hand 140 and the card 160 has beendiscarded from the hand 142.

The three replacement cards needed to complete the hand 140 are drawnfrom the deck 135, which is the same deck used initially to deal thehand 140. In FIG. 16, the cards 252, 254 and 258 have been drawn fromdeck 135 to complete and form the hand 140. The replacement card neededto complete the hand 142 is drawn from the deck 137, the same deck usedinitially to deal the original hand 142. In FIG. 16, the card 260 isdrawn from the deck 137 to complete and form the hand 142. The hands 140and 142 are then evaluated.

The presence of a three-of-a-kind triggers a second draw option. Aspreviously stated, different variants of the three-of-a-kind trigger maybe utilized. For example, the three-of-a-kind may be required to occurin the initial deal hand to trigger the second draw option.

Referring back to FIG. 16, both of the hands 140 and 142 contain athree-of-a-kind For purposes of this example, the presence of eachthree-of-a-kind triggers the second draw option. Referring now to FIG.17, the player may discard and replace one card from each hand.Additionally, the second draw option is presented to the player withoutrequiring the player to make any additional wagers. Additionally, eventhough the second draw option is available, the player does not have tomake use of this option. For the purposes of this example, however, theplayer chooses to discard the cards 150 and 252 from the hand 140 andthe cards 260 and 162 from the hand 142. Two cards are drawn from thedeck 135 to complete the hand 140 and two cards are drawn from the deck137 to complete the hand 142. Referring to FIG. 18, the cards 350 and352 are drawn from the deck 135 to complete the hand 142 and the cards360 and 362 are drawn from the deck 137 to complete the hand 142. Eachof the hands 140 and 142 are evaluated for winning combinations.Accordingly, the hand 140 is awarded a payout appropriate for afour-of-a-kind and the hand 142 is awarded a payout appropriate for athree-of-a-kind.

Furthermore, the various methodologies described above are provided byway of illustration only and should not be construed to limit theinvention. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that variousmodifications and changes may be made to the present invention withoutdeparting from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, it is not intended that the present invention be limited,except as by the appended claims.

1. A poker game comprising: a deck of playing cards; a wager receivablefrom a player; an initial hand dealt from the deck of playing cards inresponse to receipt of the wager; one or more cards optionallydiscardable from the initial hand, wherein any card discarded from theinitial hand is replaced with a replacement card, and wherein anadditional discard option is enabled when a stand-alone result of athree-of-a-kind is shown in the initial hand and player eligibility issatisfied, wherein the first additional discard option includesreplacing any additional discarded card with an additional replacementcard without requiring an additional wager; and a payout awardedaccording to a poker payout table.
 2. The poker game of claim 1, whereinthe initial hand comprises five cards.
 3. The poker game of claim 1,wherein the initial hand comprises seven cards.
 4. The poker game ofclaim 1, wherein the initial hand comprises less than seven cards. 5.The poker game of claim 1, wherein the initial hand is dealt from astandard deck of cards.
 6. The poker game of claim 1, wherein theinitial hand is dealt from a deck of cards comprising one or more wildcards.
 7. The poker game of claim 1, wherein dealing the hand of cardscomprises dealing each of the cards face-up.
 8. The poker game of claim1, wherein dealing the hand of cards comprises dealing each of the cardsface-down.
 9. The poker game of claim 1, wherein dealing the hand ofcards comprises dealing a number of the cards face-up and the remainingnumber of the cards face-down.
 10. The poker game of claim 1, furthercomprising a request receivable from the player to discard one or moreof the dealt cards, wherein the one or more of the cards requested to bediscarded are discarded.
 11. The poker game of claim 1, furthercomprising one or more additional dealt hands, wherein each additionalhand contains the same number of cards as the initial dealt hand andwherein the additional discard option is also enabled for eachadditional dealt hand in which a stand-alone result of a three-of-a-kindis shown and player eligibility is satisfied.